Researchers are asking for help from anglers to improve models that predict ice coverage on the Great lakes.
Satellite technology is available to verify the coverage of ice in the region, but little information exists on its thickness.
“In terms of knowing ice thickness information, the current ways that you can do it are through calculations so it’s not a direct observation," said Shelby Brunner, science and observations manager at Great Lakes Observing System. There's a lot of assumptions built in with that.”
According to Brunner, there are people who already go out and collect this information: people who go ice fishing.
“They already have the auger, they go out willingly, and they measure the thickness so we would love to know that information from them,” she said.
Brunner is reaching out to ice fishing communities across the Great Lakes to help fill in this gap in data. With it, researchers can better predict ice coverage in the region.
She recently hosted a workshop in Green Bay, Wisconsin to share details on the project and gather interest from community members.
She said volunteers can sign up for a workshop to test the equipment and may be eligible for a stipend for the data they provide.
Brunner says she’s hoping to find partners to put on a workshop in Saginaw Bay sometime in January.
